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The Gamelatron Mission The Gamelatron draws on the thousand-year-old sonic tradition of Indonesia--Gamelan--and the emerging field of robotics to create magical, viscerally-powerful, site-specific performances and temporary and permanent installations. Our mission is to innovatively bring the legacy and creative cultural power of gamelan to new shores, new people and communities. We also aim, in the coming years, to develop ingenous methods to preserve and revive extraordinary gamelan traditions rarely heard or passed on to the new generation. The essence of the Gamelatron is in the live experience: Handcrafted, masterfully-tuned orchestras of vibraphones, drums, chimes, bells and resonating bronze gongs played by robotic mallets are installed to immerse the audience in living kinetic sculptures. Compositions range from solitary reverberations of massive gongs and singing chimes to full ritual or storytelling orchestrations. Whether compositions are created live or pre-programmed, the instruments are always live, tuned, as they have been for centuries, to uniquely impact the human body. It (The Gamelatron) was incredible, not only the fantastic realization of the tech stuff which was awe inspiring in itself, but the presentation in general and especially the music - the actual notes. It was really masterful. I was so knocked out by the whole thing. It was a tremendous honor to have the Gamelatron have its west coast premier at the 8th Annual Joshua Tree Music Festival. In an environment so wide open and occasionally hostile, the Gamelatron provided a sonic sanctuary for those in search of relief from crowd, from sun, and on occasion from themselves. The robotic instrument achieved a great feat; to accentuate silence through melody. |
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